On Sale Mar 6, 2012 Page Count 320 Pages Publisher Hachette Logo Large Light blue Hachette logo with icon and text .hbg-1{} ISBN-13 9780813344973 Genre Nonfiction / History / Middle East / Israel & Palestine This unique volume intensively studies the nature and extent of US–Israeli relations, from 1948 through the Bush and Obama administrations. Leading experts in the field—including Israeli and North American scholars from a variety of political perspectives—contribute original essays on the principal political, religious, ethnic, military, economic, and juridical connections between the United States and Israel. Specific topics covered in this new book the pro-Israel lobby in the United States; the US Jewish community and its relations to Israel; evangelical Christians and Israel; military and economic ties between the United States and Israel; the threat of a nuclear Iran for both countries; and the impact of American jurisprudence on Israel. Section introductions from the editor effectively contextualize the issues and provide students with an in-depth understanding of the past, present, and future of the US–Israel relationship. What's Inside Preface I have been studying the Middle East, and the American role in the region, for more than forty-four years. My study of the Middle East began in February 1967 when, as a young US Army officer, I was appointed to teach in the Department of Social Sciences of the US Military Academy at West Point. There I met a number of officers who shared with me their experiences of military service in the region, which included equal doses of fascination and frustration. Several months later came the June 1967 Six-Day War, and discussion among the West Point faculty intensified as to what the proper role for the United States should be in the rapidly escalating Arab-Israeli conflict. Following completion of my army service, I participated in the Scholar-Diplomat Program of the US Department of State, where I had the opportunity not only to interact with high-ranking State Department officials, such as then US Deputy Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs Alfred (Roy) Atherton, but also to read the cables coming into the Near Eastern and South Asian Bureau from diplomats in the Middle East. In subsequent years I had the opportunity to get to know and learn from a number of US State Department and National Security Council officials, such as L. Dean Brown, Hermann Eilts, Philip Habib, Hal Saunders, Richard Murphy, Robert Pelletreau, Dan Kurtzer, Dennis Ross, Bill Quandt, Sam Lewis, and Aaron David Miller. I also met and interviewed a number of Arab and Israeli leaders, such as Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, Tsippy Livni, and Jordanian King Hussein Ibn Talal... Read More Read Less “Despite the ups and downs in the US-Israel relationship, the close ties between the two countries is one of the few constants in the tumultuous Middle East. The relationship is complex and multifaceted, which is why a collection of essays by Israeli and American experts in very different fields is able to provide deep analysis of so many of the attributes of this relationship. And there are some real gems in this collection. Scholars and teachers will find Robert Freedman's edited collection Israel and the United States an invaluable resource.” — Ronald W. Zweig, Taub Professor of Israel Studies, New York University “Professor Freedman's edited book offers the most comprehensive coverage of the truly special relationships between the United States and Israel, a detailed and often penetrating set of analyses by top specialists in various aspects of those complicated relationships. All chapters are clearly written and are accessible to students on various levels and to the general, policy-attentive public. This volume should be on the shelf of anyone interested in Israel, the Middle East and, indeed, American foreign policy.” — Ilan Peleg, Lafayette College and Middle East Institute, Washington